In 2017, many people in San Jose woke up to feet of water flooding their homes which left hundreds caught off guard and temporarily homeless. As the Camp Fire races through Northern California right now, many of the same sentiments are being echoed, this time with a fatal tone; people didn't know what to do, they didn't know they were suppose to evacuate, they never got the message.
During any large scale emergency, knowledge is one of the most important resources anyone can have. It allows people to make educated decisions about when to evacuate vs shelter in place, where to go, and what the best way to get there is; getting accurate and timely information is always a struggle especially during an emergency.
The City of San Jose is participating in a new Countywide Emergency Notification System that will provide timely and lifesaving information to registered residents, no matter their location.
The AlertSCC system can send thousands of text and voice messages within minutes to home and business land line phones using existing 411 and 911 databases. The system cannot reach cell phones, PDA’s, computers, and devices for the hearing impaired, unless those cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses are registered with the system.
Registering takes only a few minutes through a simple online process. Anyone who lives or works in Santa Clara County is encouraged to register their cell phone number and e-mail address by going to www.AlertSCC.com. Click on “Participating Cities” to register.